Hassan Says He’s Breaking Libya Treaty

King Hassan II of Morocco announced Friday that he is breaking a two-year-old “treaty of unity” with Libya because Col. Moammar Kadafi accused him of treason for meeting Israel’s prime minister.

In an hourlong radio and television address to the nation, Hassan said Libya offended “the honor and dignity” of Morocco, and he renounced the treaty signed with Kadafi in August, 1984, which included a mutual defense agreement.

Kadafi and Syrian President Hafez Assad this week accused Hassan of “an act of treason” for meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres last month.

A Rare Encounter

The Moroccan leader held inconclusive talks with Peres on the Middle East and resigned his chairmanship of the Arab League conference after hard-line Arab states denounced his public contact with Peres--the first between an Arab and Israeli leader since 1981.

Syria broke diplomatic relations with Morocco because of the talks.

In Washington, a State Department spokesman said, “The United States welcomes reports that King Hassan has decided to break his treaty of friendship with Libya.” Officials termed it further evidence of a reaction to what they called Kadafi’s irrational behavior.

The king’s declaration prompted political observers in Rabat to wonder whether the move would lead Kadafi to renew his economic and military aid for guerrillas in the Western Sahara.

Support for Rebels

Algerian-backed members of the Polisario Front, fighting for the independence of a disputed area claimed by Morocco, were supported by Kadafi until the Libyan-Moroccan treaty.

In addition to the mutual defense pact, the agreement strengthened political and economic ties. It quickly caused tension between Morocco and Washington, which has considered Hassan one of its closest friends in the Arab world and which has accused Kadafi of masterminding international terrorism.